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Author Notes: I love pan roasting chicken breasts because searing it first in a skillet gives it a wonderful, crispy skin and finishing the cooking in the oven makes the meat wonderfully moist and tender. The accompanying pan sauce is easy to make and the Dijon mustard is perfectly complemented by the tangy cider vinegar and sweet brown sugar. And the addition of crispy pancetta sprinkled on top adds a delightful crunch. —Sonali aka the Foodie Physician

Serves 4

1tablespoon olive oil

4ounces pancetta, small diced

4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4cup minced shallots

1tablespoon dijon mustard

1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2cup chicken stock

1tablespoon packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until browned and crispy. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Add the chicken breasts skin side down to the drippings in the hot skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes until skin is golden brown, then transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook in oven 15-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees. Turn the chicken breasts halfway through cooking. Remove skillet from oven and place chicken breasts on a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of drippings from the skillet. Heat the skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook 1-2 minutes until translucent. Stir in the Dijon mustard and cider vinegar and cook until vinegar is reduced. Raise the heat and whisk in the chicken stock and brown sugar. Cook 3-4 minutes until sauce thickens. Taste and season with salt and black pepper to taste.

To serve, plate the chicken breasts and pour the pan sauce on top. Sprinkle the crispy pancetta over the top. Serve warm.

This is awesome! I made this for dinner last night and I used boneless, skinless breasts along with 3 small boneless, skinless thighs as I like the flavor the dark meat brings along to any chicken dish. Served it along with Royal Blend w/flaxseed Texmati rice, and steamed lightly butter kale. The pancetta sprinkled on top of all. It was delicious and I just finished the left-overs for lunch!

Good recipe, I just have one suggestion about the technique used. When you remove a protein from the oven it will continue to cook and raise in temperature. The "standard" for chicken is 165 degrees internal temperature. When you go beyond that it starts to dry out. If you leave the chicken in the oven until it's 170, by the time it sits for a few minutes it will be in the neighborhood of 180. I'd recommend removing it from the oven at 155 or 160 at the most. This will yield a juicier chicken breast.

This is such an amazing recipe. I dated a vegetarian for two years so got in the habit of not cooking meat. The prospect of cooking meat scared me! But this recipe makes perfect, juicy, crispy, flavorful chicken everytime. The flavors are amazing and the technique invaluable. Thank you!

Made this for supper a couple nights ago- turned out amazing. The sauce was just lovely. My only complaint was - not enough sauce! I think perhaps my cast iron pan was so warm that everything reduced down too quickly. Next time I will try with chorizo, skinless chicken breast and 50% extra sauce. Definitely will make again. Thanks!!

I made this dish last night with a small change- I rubbed the skin-on chicken with a little chile powder, salt and brown sugar before searing. The color was gorgeous! The chicken was very moist. I made the recipe for clients, to the point where the chicken is seared and the sauce on top. They finished it in a 400 degree oven and it came out beautifully. Thanks!

Wonderful- obviously an adaptable recipe, becuase I was using my oven for roasted veggies (at 500 degrees, so couldn't "share")- so cooked this throughout on the stovetop- browned the chicken as directed, but then dropped the heat and covered the skillet to finish the chicken. Came out wonderful, and the sauce was a favorite. I'll have to come back to try the "real"recipe. Sonali- thanks for posting this!

Great Sunday night dinner - I had most of the ingredients in the fridge already. Used ham and chorizo in place of the pancetta and boneless, skinless chicken breasts like a number of other cooks. These substitions generated less fat in the pan, requiring a little extra olive oil My son & I both loved the dish.

I made this last night with boneless skinless chicken breasts and it worked out really well, delicious and easy enough to make. The lack of skin and the leanness of the meat changes the drippings and affected the sauce. It was delicious but didn't have the texture of the photo. Next time I make it, I won't remove all the drippings and see if I can get the sauce a little closer to yours.

This is a very good recipe. I made it for dinner tonight. It is quite easy to make and delicious. The recipe is going in my permanent file, because I will make this again. I didn't have any pancetta so I used American bacon. The salty, smoky, bacon crunch worked great against the sweet/sour of the sauce.